


Do Me a Favor and Take Care of Yourself

by ZaraTsubasa



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/M, Paige meets Walter earlier, Three years prior to Pilot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:10:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaraTsubasa/pseuds/ZaraTsubasa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You come into my 24hr diner at the oddest times because of your weird job, but you keep forgetting that we talk because you're always sleep deprived” au</p><p>In which Paige meets Walter earlier than in canon, three years earlier when Mark Collins was still around and fully in Walt's head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do Me a Favor and Take Care of Yourself

"Thank you so much for taking Ralph on such short notice," Paige said as she balanced her cell phone on the crook of her shoulder and yanked open the diner door, squinting as the early morning light gave way to dull fluorescents. "I should be home by two, just make sure he eats his breakfast because he'll ignore it if you let him."

She rattled off a few more last minute instructions to the sitter before hanging up and stepping behind the counter to take over for a girl just ending her shift. The girl spared Paige little more than a harried glance as she pushed past with her uniform slung over one arm, but as the girl turned to frown over her shoulder, Paige spotted the source of her co-worker's exasperation.

 _"They're_ here again," the girl hissed on her way out, "Good luck with that."

The diner never got very crowded during the late night to early morning hours, but the people it did attract in the witching hour were always a bit more of a handful. Teens with the munchies, drunken twenty somethings, and exhausted truckers in need of food and caffeine were just a few of the colorful characters who showed up during the night. However, the biggest handful always came from a pair of disheveled men who entered the diner at odd hours, rarely ordering anything or eating what they did order as they mumbled to themselves and each other the entire night long. 

Only one of the pair was at their usual table when Paige looked for them, his head of curly dark hair visible as he leaned his head on his arms and she realized that he'd fallen asleep without his friend there to keep him awake. Paige sighed, relieved that for now, it was just Walter. At least he answered when he was spoken to, even if he was groggy and confused at best; anything was better than the cold condescension of Mark Collins. Collins' superiority complex was definitely the worst part of dealing with the genius pair; nobody at the diner liked being treated like they were stupid.

Paige sighed and tied an apron around her waist, getting to work checking on her assigned tables as she kept herself busy with the easy ebb and flow of the diner's morning routine. It wasn't until she finished her rounds and there was still no sign of Collins that she paused, watching the steady rise and fall of Walter's back before she gave in to the nurturing instinct that always nagged her when she saw the man wandering around in a dazed, malnourished stupor.

"Ham and cheese sandwich and a glass of water for table six," she told the kitchen, watching the door in case Collins decided to appear. He didn't, to her relief, and as soon as the meal was finished she grabbed it from the counter, adding an apple from a nearby fruit bowl to the mix and approaching Walter's table.

The Irish genius began to stir as soon as Paige set the plate down in front of him, no doubt smelling the food and sensing that someone was close by. 

"Where am I?" he mumbled as he pushed himself into a sitting position, blinking at his surroundings and then up at Paige as if he were struggling to recognize them.

"You're at the diner, Walter, you’ve been here all night. Now go ahead and eat, your meal's on the house." she instructed him, but Walter was still giving her the same confused frown.

"Who are you? Where's Mark?" he asked, eliciting a sigh from Paige.

"My name is Paige, I’m a waitress. We've already talked twice this week, but you never seem to remember it because you're always so exhausted. I just got here so I don't know where your friend is, but I'm sure he'll be back soon."

The man sat still for a moment, taking in the new information before he nodded slowly, absently pulling a pen from his shirt pocket and several napkins from their holder as he started to jot down a stray thought. "Thank you," he mumbled to her. He was about to get right back into his work again when Paige snatched the pen and napkin away, holding them out of his reach. 

"You can have these back when you're done eating," she explained when he frowned at her. "Right now you're so fried that I'm pretty sure you'd pass out if you tried to stand, so I expect you to finish everything on your plate."

She used the same tone of voice she always used on Ralph when he was being stubborn, and although it felt a bit strange to be chastising a nearly thirty year old man rather than a six year old boy, her persistence paid off. Throwing a last sullen glance her way, Walter picked up the apple and took a bite, leaving a relieved Paige to tend to her customers again. By the time she returned to check on him, Walter had bitten the apple down to its core and was working on the sandwich. The change was obvious, and Paige was glad to see that he was already more alert and responsive than he’s been when she’d first woken him.

“There you go,” she praised him as she set down a fresh glass of water next to the one Walter had emptied. “That wasn’t too hard, was it? You’re already looking better.”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked her, dark eyes studying her carefully, analyzing her intent.

“Honestly? You remind me of my son. He gets so wrapped up in his projects sometimes that he ignores everything else, just like you and your friend Mark.”

“Your son…” Walter repeated slowly.

“Ralph,” Paige supplied, “I’ve mentioned him before, but I take it you don’t remember that either, do you?”

Walter averted his eyes, and Paige would have thought he looked ashamed if she hadn’t been informed again and again that Walter O’Brien didn’t feel anything, much less shame. 

"Do me a favor? Go home, and get some rest," she said gently. “It would be a shame to see someone so brilliant burn out in his prime.”

“I-I can’t,” Walter replied, shaking his head, “I just remembered, Mark is coming back with our notes. We were discussing the quantum mechanics of time travel. We were nearing a breakthrough.”

“Right. And remind me how you intend to do that when you can barely keep your eyes open?” Paige responded, frowning sternly at him when he shied away from her gaze again. 

The ringing of the bell above the diner door alerted her to a new customer and Paige looked up, feeling a rush of nervousness as she spotted Mark Collins hurrying in with a stack of rumpled paper clutched in his hands.

“Here, Walter,” she said, lowering her voice an octave as she could already feel Collins’ eyes on her. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the pen and napkin she’d confiscated, setting them down on the table. “You can have this back now.”

Paige moved to leave as Collins walked up, paranoia already in full gear as he sized up the waitress interacting with his partner.

“What were you doing?” he demanded immediately. 

“I was getting him a proper meal,” Paige responded defensively, holding her hands up as if to signal surrender, “You guys have been here all night from what I understand, your friend was starving.”

“Meals are a distraction, and we have work to do,” Collins replied, narrowing his eyes as he watched her distrustfully, taking note of her every move.

“You’re welcome for keeping him alive for you,” Paige retorted, “In case you’ve forgotten, people need food and water to live, and it’s pretty obvious that you two like to neglect that need. If you’d like to order something yourself, I’d be happy to get it for you.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Mark replied, and without another word he proceeded to ignore her, scooting into the booth across from Walter and spreading the papers he’d brought across the table. He had Walter’s full attention as soon as he’d sat down, and before she knew it Paige was watching them converse in their own genius language again. She sighed and walked away to take the orders from another table, deciding that she’d made enough progress for today.

It wasn’t normal by any standard, but at least it was a start. Normalcy had never applied to Walter O’Brien anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I've decided to keep writing things for Scorpion until I run out of ideas, and considering the long list of fun aus out there I doubt that'll be any time soon. This was pretty fun to write since I've been fascinated by the whole "down the rabbit hole" concept ever since it was introduced, plus it gave me an excuse to rewatch Plutonium is Forever. So, enjoy everybody.


End file.
